“With a heavy heart…” Maharashtra BJP chief said on the decision to make Eknath Shinde the CM

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Maharashtra unit president Chandrakant Patil on Saturday said the BJP had decided to make rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde the chief minister of the state instead of Devendra Fadnavis with a “heavy heart”. During the BJP’s state executive committee meeting in Panvel, Patil said the decision was taken to send out the right message.

The BJP, the largest party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, surprised everyone by announcing Shinde as the chief minister on June 30. Patil said, “We needed to give a leader who would give the right message and ensure stability. The central leadership and Devendra Fadnavis decided to support Shinde as chief minister with a heavy heart. We were unhappy but decided to accept the verdict.

Meanwhile, on a question related to Patil’s remarks, state BJP leader Ashish Shelar told reporters that it was not the stand of the party or Patil, but he was referring to the sentiments of party workers.